Vall's Will (5 page)

Chapter Six

Precorut

The outpost was as
old as old could be, and still remain functional. The reason for its longevity
was due to the fact that the Temporum galaxy lay in almost direct center of
nearly a dozen shipping lanes. Traffic was heavy and constant. Merchant ships,
as well as passenger cruise ships, always stopped at Precorut to load and
unload.

Many species
were delighted by the wide and varied accommodations allowed at the outpost.
The place, Will had to admit, had its own ambience that she enjoyed. No alien
races threatened Precorut’s stance in the galaxy, which meant the outpost was
as close to being a vacationer’s heaven as was possible. Maybe it was because
of that, or the fact that the people there were a highly superstitious race,
afraid that any change to the outpost would result in a change of celestial
luck. They refused to do any sort of update or renovation, other than what was
absolutely necessary to maintain minimum safety requirements and please the
status quo.

By the time the
Trinity
docked, Plymon was acting as if their morning spat hadn’t taken place. Will
mentally rolled her eyes. In the short time that she’d known him, Plymon never
let his feelings override his professionalism. This side of him was one she’d
never seen, and one she didn’t like it.

“Captain
Tayte.” It was Gayt.

Will answered
from the command chair on the bridge as Magnus guided the ship into the docking
bay. “Tayte here.”

“The
Anglites are ready.”

“Any word
on their escort back to their home world?”

“Already
arrived and waiting to greet them.”

“Good. What
about Vall?”

“I think
you might want to come down here before we disembark.” There was a hint of
laughter in the scientist’s voice.

“All right.
I’m on my way. Plymon, you have the helm.”

She took the
tube down to the bottom level of the ship, where mobile cargo was loaded and
unloaded via a lowered gangplank. Gayt was there, as well as Felderen, who was
in charge of freight and supplies, and the three Anglites. With them was
Killjorn, who would remain with the alien family until they were safely handed over
to their escorts. There was also another man, dressed in the long gray robes of
a Regent diplomat. His back was to her, leaving her to wonder who had already
boarded the ship. Confused at first, Will walked up to him just as he turned
around.

The effect was
stunning.

He was clean.
His jet black hair had been trimmed close to his skull. Stylish tufted spikes
on top of his head gave him a rather rakish look. Golden-brown eyes smiled at
her to see her surprised by his new appearance. What she had thought were
Regent robes were actually plain and unadorned, yet on him, they looked as if
he was meant to wear the otherwise embossed finery. Literally taken aback, Will
froze in place to stare up at the changed young man.

“By the
stars, Vall! What a difference!”

The man smiled.
A bit of color pinked his face, but he appeared very pleased.

“Commander
Oglet is waiting for us,” Gayt informed her.

“Good.
Lower the walkway, Felderen.”

They watched the
sloped ladder lower onto the bay floor, and Will led the way, with Vall
directly behind her. Commander Oglet and a large gathering of other people were
waiting a short distance away. Will felt the ceremonial smile slide off her
face as she approached the group. Oglet’s grim expression triggered a
protective response within her, warning her that this meeting would not bode
well.

The commander
gave her a curt nod as she approached and stopped before them. Will, as well as
the rest of her accompanying crew, nodded in reply. She watched as he and the
others eyed the Anglites, as well as the man standing beside her.

“Captain
Tayte.”

“Commander
Oglet.”

“I wish I
could say welcome to the Blaise Temporum system.”

The remark
puzzled her. “Sir?”

Oglet gave a
little gesture with his hand. Instantly, four soldiers emerged from the group,
including two Anglites, who hurried toward their rescued members. Like typical
humanoids, they hugged and squeaked, and bounded up and down in joyous
greeting. After their enthusiastic meeting, the older Anglite detached himself
and walked over to Will. This time, when he lifted a hand to her, it was to
place them palm to palm.

Translate,
she
mentally ordered herself, and she felt something shift beneath her skin.

“You are
our savior,” the creature said with earnest. He lifted her hand over his head
and made a circle. His eyestalks leaned in her direction. “You will always
be our friend.”

She couldn’t
help the color from rising in her cheeks as she smiled. “Your safety is
all the thanks we need. Have a happy trip back to your home and family.”

The Anglite
bowed to her and released her hand. Will signaled for Killjorn.

“Our
physician will help you to your vessel, and relay all the information about
your release to your people.”

The Anglites
gave her one final bow, then turned to leave for the docking area where their
ship was waiting. Will watched as the aliens left the bay. Before they were out
of sight, Oglet spoke again.

“Come with
me.”

Will pressed her
lips together and followed the commander and his men. She was quick to notice
she and the others weren’t being phalanxed. The observation filled her with a
sense of relief. Having a small platoon follow the commander wasn’t standard
operational procedure, and normally meant someone was about to be escorted to a
holding pen. The group of approximately eight men continued to flank the space
station’s overseer. The Nion warriors brought up the rear.

They went to the
uppermost level where the offices and bridge were located. A crew of four
manned the main consoles, keeping the space station anchored to this section of
the universe. Somewhere at the opposite end of the giant rotating structure lay
the engines and machines which regulated all life support.

The commander’s
office was adjacent to the bridge. Will found herself standing inside an
immense room, of which one side was a huge, semi-circular transparent wall
looking out into the vastness of space. Staring at the array of distant stars
and planets, she caught sight of a flicker of light in the distance that
signaled an incoming ship.

“Captain
Tayte.”

Her name sounded
like a sharp command. Will pivoted around to find Oglet waiting for her from
behind his desk. The rest of his entourage stood around the room at various
points, almost encircling her and her crew. Again, she got the impression they
were about to face charges of some kind, but her instincts told her
differently. Frowning slightly, she went to stand before him.

The commander
eyed the person who continued to keep in close contact behind her. “He’s
not wearing a Nion uniform, so I’m going to assume this is one of the prisoners
you released from the Objurian ship?”

“His name
is Vall. And, so far, we have been unable to figure out what species he
is.”

“What does
he say?”

“Nothing.
He hasn’t spoken a work since we freed him.”

Oglet narrowed
his eyes. Before he could ask, Will answered him. “No, he’s not mute. My
physician assures me he is capable of speech.”

Nodding, the
commander motioned to one of the guards. “Have Vall wait on the
bridge.”

The moment he
was aware he was being taken away, Vall tried to shrug off the guard’s hand and
threw Will a pleading look.

“It’s all
right, Vall. Wait for us on the bridge. Everything is fine,” she assured
him.

“Come,
Vall. We’ll wait for her outside.” Gayt gave the sleeve of his robe a
little tug. However, the man continued to resist. Sighing, Will took his hand
and led him back onto the bridge where she left him by the navigation console.
Gayt followed.

“Stay here
with Gayt. I’ll return for you,” Will said, adding a smile.

Vall scanned her
face, for what, Will couldn’t fathom. Maybe he was fearful of being separated
from her?
Oh, stars, help me when it comes time to leave him here.
Adding
a gentle pat to his arm, she released his hand and glanced at the scientist.

Gayt lowered her
voice. “What’s this all about, Captain?”

“I don’t
know, but I’m not reading anything. Are you?”

“No.”

“Keep Vall
safe while I’m gone. I hope this won’t take long.”

Throwing Vall
another smile, Will re-entered the inner office. This time, Oglet was seated
behind his desk and reading a report beamed onto his desktop.

“I just
received the details behind your fight with the Ben Objure. You do know you
attacked a queen ship, don’t you?”

“Yes, we
were aware of that.”

“I don’t
think you do.” Resting his elbows on the desk, Oglet templed his fingers
in front of his face. “That wasn’t any queen. It was
the
queen. The
queen mother, you could say. The uppermost hierarchy of the Objurian
species.”

Will crossed her
arms under her breasts. “In most cases, I would think we would get major
congratulations for a job well done, but somehow I’m not getting those vibes
from you.”

“An hour
before you arrived, we received a transmission from Ben Fil Dera Objure. They
say you murdered their Mother of Mothers, and they’re calling for your arrest.
They want you delivered to them immediately, or they promise to start an
all-out war on every outpost and colony supported by the Regency.”

“Tell the
Objure to go fekk themselves. You know our supreme oath. You know we swear not
to kill. We didn’t kill their precious queen mother. They did. They detonated
their own ship,” Will informed him sharply. “It’s only because of our
natural armor that I and my crew managed to survive the blast.”

“Your own
vessel tells a slightly different version,” Oglet countered. He tapped the
desk’s surface where the report still reflected. “It says you were on that
vessel a good twenty-eight minutes before it blew. If what you say is true,
twenty-eight minutes passed until, somewhere, somehow, you or one of your crew
either tripped something, or planted a device, which caused the
explosion.”

“I am not
lying,” Will insisted. “My crew and I are innocent of the charges. We
did not outright kill the queen mother. Immobilized her, yes.”

“Where were
you, Captain, when it all went down?”

Will nearly
turned to look at the doorway leading to the bridge. “We had just rescued
Vall.”

“The young
man in the robes?”

She nodded.
“Yes.”

Oglet leaned
back in his chair as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Curious.”

“I
agree.”

He glanced back
down at the report. “By the time you reached the young man, you had
already freed other prisoners?”

“Most of
them, yes, sir. We reached the Anglites first. The next cell contained
Kordorphats. Vall was our third attempt.” A thought crossed her mind,
which Oglet noticed.

“What?”

“Unlike the
Anglites and Kordorphats, his cell was locked. On the outside.”

“Locked?”
The commander looked as perplexed as she was. “Why would they lock him
in?”

She shook her
head. “I have no idea. None of us did. It wasn’t until we removed Vall
from his cell that we were told of the impending explosion. In all, we were
given less than a handful of seconds before the ship detonated.”

“You were
still on the ship?”

“Yes, but
we knew our auras would hold.”

“How did
Vall survive?”

“I threw
myself on him and held him in my arms. My shield protected us both.”

Oglet’s eyes
widened. “I’ve heard of that happening, that a Nion can manage to
encapsulate two bodies, but it’s uncommon.”

“In this
case, it was. But we females have an extra bit of give in our auras. It’s to
give us the ability to protect our offspring.”

 
“You were lucky on that account. So, in
other words, we can assume that by releasing the young man, your actions may
have caused the Objurian ship to explode, correct?”

She had to admit
to that probability. “It would appear that way.”

“Hmm.”
The commander pondered for a moment.

“We did not
plant any kind of explosive on that ship that would totally decimate it,”
Will stated again. “It would go against Nion law.”

“I believe
you, but it’s obvious that when you released the prisoner, you caused the
explosive they themselves had rigged to go live. Had you not rescued him, the
queen mother might still be alive.”

“We had to
rescue him,” Will argued. “You should have seen the condition of his
cell. It was filthy and unsanitary, and he was nothing more than a sack of
bones.” She leaned forward and placed her hands on the edge of the desk.
“He’s been a prisoner since he was nine years old, Commander!” She
had tears in her eyes, and no fekking idea why. Quickly, she blinked to
disburse them, and hoped the man hadn’t noticed.

After a moment,
Oglet asked, “Is it normal procedure to board an Objurian craft after
you’ve defeated it?”

“Yes. The
crew needs to be contained as soon as possible, to prevent them from doing
further harm, either to themselves, or to others.”

“And what
of their prisoners?”

“In many
cases, the Ben Objure are heartless toward their prisoners. We often find them
without proper food or water. There’s never any regard to their comfort, or
needs. If we are aware of prisoners being on board, we bring them back to our
ship and care for them until we reach an outpost or settlement where they can
be released and returned to their home world.”

“And what
of the Objurian ship? You turn the Ben Objure over to the authorities for
detention?”